Responsible tourism in Petra & Wadi Rum

Aside from the impact of people walking around Petra the temptation to touch ancient walls and lean on surfaces further diminishes what has stood for over 2,000 years. Dr Tom Paradise from the University of Arkansas has worked at Petra for a quarter of a century and monitored tourist impact levels on two areas in particular: the Khazneh and Theatre. He found that over the course of a ten year period the Khazneh had been reduced by 40mm due to touching and rubbing by visiting tourists. He also discovered that the Theatre’s stone masonry markings that were 15-20 percent visible in 1990 had been worn away to less than 5-10 percent visible in 2005.

What you can do
It’s these sorts of findings that need to be taken into consideration when visiting Petra and although it’s nigh on impossible not to touch something of the sandstone site, taking care not to go out of your way to do so is definitely best practice – and there is never any justification for climbing on the monuments.

Another area where tourists really should think before they act is when clambering aboard a donkey to climb up the sandstone steps to the Monastery. Think: If your regular walking boots are going to cause some damage then imagine the impact of a donkey’s hooves! The Petra National Trust are trying to find a way to regulate donkey use on sandstone; however, as this is a major source of income for locals, finding alternative uses for donkeys is an ongoing agenda item. Protecting the welfare of animals in Petra is just as important as looking after the structure itself with other core issues, such as: child welfare and human rights, fundamental to the work being undertaken by the Care for Petra campaign. This short Care for Petra video is a great resource for responsible travelers visiting Petra.

P.S. Walking sticks are also known to damage Petra’s sandstone paths and carving graffiti into the walls is just wrong on so many levels.

The more tourists that visit Petra the more locals will want to – and should be able to – benefit from their presence. However, visitors have a duty to ensure they are not encouraging the destruction of Petra through the purchase of irresponsible souvenirs, no matter how pretty – or innocent – they may look.

The traders around Petra – in common with vendors around the world – operate on a supply and demand basis. Unfortunately, many tourists demand authentic artefacts – which can only be acquired by looting them from Petra’s tombs. The traders only gain from this looting if they have a steady market – so by refusing to fund this activity, you are removing the incentive for them to do it. On top of this, buying and selling these looted treasures is illegal – and there will be repercussions. In the same way: it may seem like you are supporting a needy child by purchasing trinkets from them, but the more tourists that purchase items from children then the more children will be sent out to work instead of going to school.

Although sand bottles may look beautiful and have obviously been skillfully created, the more sand that’s taken from Petra’s natural landscape the less stable the landscape becomes.